Minn. AG Won't Help Prosecute Homeowner in Deaths

The Minnesota attorney general's office has rejected a request to help prosecute a rural Little Falls man accused of killing two teenagers.

Morrison County Attorney Brian Middendorf had asked for help prosecuting 64-year-old Byron David Smith. Middendorf cited the high volume of serious criminal cases his office has been handling.

Although the state attorney general's office helped in the days after Smith's arrest, the office turned down the county attorney's request to prosecute Smith.

An attorney general's spokesman tells the St. Cloud Times that county prosecutors "seem well-positioned to handle such a trial."

Smith is accused of fatally shooting 18-year-old Haile Kifer and 17-year-old Nick Brady after the two cousins broke into his home on Thanksgiving. A hearing is scheduled Monday on whether to reduce Smith's $2 million bail.

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